Teachers in early childhood policy

Bibliographic Data

ID11488477
AuthorsAnna Kilderry (0000-0003-1692-8498, Victoria University, College of Education, PO Box 14428, St Albans Campus, Melbourne, Australia, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume29
Issue2
Pages242-262
Publication date2014-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Education Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0268-0939 • E-ISSN: 1464-5106
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02680939.2013.817612
OpenAlexW2036522536
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited30

This paper examines teacher accountability and authority in early childhood policy. It reports on data from a study that investigated the influences affecting early childhood teacher decision-making at the preschool level in Victoria, Australia. Using a question raised by Ball ‘Where are the teachers in all this [policy]?’ provided a starting point for the critical discourse analysis into how forms of control, teacher authority, obligation and constraint within policies potentially influenced teachers’ curriculum decisions. The study found that despite no government-mandated curriculum framework at the time, teachers were held accountable for their curricular practice. Yet as professionals, early childhood teachers were denied public acknowledgement of their expertise as they were almost invisible in policy. In the four policies analysed, proprietors of early childhood settings and preschool agencies held authority over curriculum. Subsequently, teachers’ authority as professionals with curricular knowledge was diminished

Accountability · Acknowledgement · Curriculum · Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Government (linguistics · Obligation · Pedagogy · Political science · Public policy · Sociology · Children's Rights and Participation · Early Childhood Education and Development · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

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